Long Overdue
by Imagination-Parade
Summary: Inspired by a particular Booth line from the promo to "The Passenger in the Oven," though no spoilers here. If you've seen the previews, you're safe! Brennan doesn't understand the strange request Booth made after seeing her in those glasses...


_Hello everyone!! So, upon watching the promo for "The Passenger in the Oven" sixty billion times simply to hear David's sexy voice after he sees Brennan in those glasses, this little idea popped into my head. There are really no spoilers for the episode in the story, though. If you've seen the promo, you're good. Don't worry about being spoiled here..._

_As always, Bones belongs to Hart Hanson and Fox…not me. Enjoy the story! _

* * *

It was well after dark by the time Booth and Brennan arrived in their Chinese hotel suite. The suite consisted of two separate bedrooms with a common bathroom, living room, and mini-kitchen. Booth walked in, dropped his bags by the door, and collapsed on the couch. Brennan placed her bags in the bedroom nearest the door before joining Booth on the couch. They were exhausted. Both knew they'd have weird cases throughout their careers as a forensic anthropologist and a homicide specialist, but neither of them ever expected they'd have to solve a murder in mere hours at thirty thousand feet above the ground.

"So…" Brennan started. "What do we do now? Order food?"

"You're fun to hang out with, Bones, but I think I'm just gonna shower and go to bed," Booth said. Brennan let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't take all the hot water," she mumbled.

"No problem," he replied. "Just give me ten minutes and then the bathroom's all yours."

"Goodnight, Booth," she said, smiling at him.

"'Night, Bones," he said, lazily returning her smile.

Booth stood and headed towards the bathroom, while Brennan headed into the bedroom she had designated as hers. Something had been bothering her since the investigation on the plane, and the only person she could go to for clarification was Angela. Knowing it would be late morning in Washington, DC, and knowing that she couldn't possibly wait until she got home to discuss this with her best friend, Brennan loaded up her laptop and established a video chat with Angela's computer at the Jeffersonian.

"Hey, sweetie!" Angela said as Brennan flopped onto her stomach on the bed. "Crazy day, huh?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Brennan laughed.

"You and Booth make it to the hotel okay?" Angela asked.

"Yes, we're fine, but Ange…I need your expertise on something Booth said to me earlier," Brennan said.

"Sure, Bren. What'd he say?" she asked with interest.

"Well, since I obviously didn't have any adequate lab equipment on the plane, we borrowed a passenger's eye glasses to use as a makeshift magnifying glass," Brennan began to explain.

"Ooh, good idea," Angela commented.

"Yes, it provided to be a satisfactory substitute."

"So what happened with Booth?" Angela asked.

"When he saw me wearing the black eye glasses, he said he wanted me to shake out my hair and ask him if he knew the penalty for overdue books," Brennan said, her face scrunching up in confusion.

Angela instantly looked completely surprised. "He did _what_?"

"He told me to…" Brennan started to repeat.

"Yeah, sweetie, I heard you. My statement was rhetorical."

"Oh…then why did you look so surprised?" Brennan asked.

"I just…can't believe _Booth_ said that to you," Angela said.

"Why? Does it mean something?" Brennan asked.

"Oh yeah," Angela confirmed. "It _definitely_ means something."

"What in the world was he talking about?" Brennan asked, trying desperately to understand.

"Do you still have the glasses?" Angela asked.

"Why?"

"Just wondering. You probably had to give them back, right?"

"We tried, but after the woman found out how we had used them and that they had been near a decomposing corpse, she didn't want them back," Brennan said. "They're in my bag."

"Put them on," Angela requested, struggling not to giggle.

"Why?" Brennan asked again.

"Seeing them may help me explain it to you," Angela claimed. "Wait, how'd he say it?"

"I don't understand," she said. The confused look returned to Brennan's face.

"Where was he standing when he said it?" Angela clarified.

"I don't know," Brennan said. "Pretty close to me, I suppose."

"Was his tone of voice kind of low and husky?"

Brennan took a moment to think about it. "Yes."

"Okay, put the glasses on," Angela told her, the smile on her face growing.

Brennan pulled the glasses out of her bag and lay back down on her stomach on the bed. She slid the glasses onto her face, adjusted them slightly, and looked up at the computer screen. Angela immediately burst into a fit of laughter.

"What?" Brennan asked.

"Oh, Brennan, if I were there, I could just slap you," Angela said.

"Why would you do that?" Brennan asked.

"Booth was hitting on you!" Angela exclaimed.

"What?" Brennan exclaimed.

"He _so_ was, sweetie," Angela told her, still laughing.

"How did you possibly reach that conclusion?" Brennan asked, still completely oblivious as to what had happened.

"From what you told me!" Angela replied. "The close proximity, the gravelly voice, the words he actually said…seeing the glasses just confirmed my suspicions."

"What do the glasses have to do with anything?"

"Bren, he thinks the glasses make you look like a sexy librarian, and he wanted you to shake out your hair and play the role for him," Angela said.

"Booth once told me that he didn't like role-playing," Brennan said.

"Yeah, pony play fetishes and sexy smart chick fantasies aren't exactly the same thing," Angela told her. "Trust me, sweetie, Booth was _definitely_ hitting on you."

For once in her life, Brennan felt absolutely speechless. After a long pause, she finally took the glasses off, looked at Angela, and said, "Why would he do that?"

"Because he's finally realizing he wants his smart, sexy partner to be more than just his _business_ partner, if you know what I mean," Angela said.

"Finally?" Brennan asked.

"You guys have wanted each other for years. You'll both understand that eventually," Angela deadpanned.

"So what do I do?" Brennan asked.

"Honestly? I think you should put those glasses back on and go give the man what he asked for!" Angela said.

"Angela!" Brennan exclaimed.

"Why do you always think I'm kidding when I say stuff like that?" Angela asked.

"I know you're not kidding," Brennan said. "I just don't know if that's the appropriate or most productive course of action."

"Probably not," she shrugged. "I don't know what you should do, sweetie, but his line obviously intrigued you enough to call me to ask what it meant, and if you ask me, you two are _long_ overdue for some hot, mind-blowing kissing."

"Well, I didn't understand!" Brennan protested. "And I was completely unprepared for that answer! I just assumed he was referencing some movie I had not heard of before."

"Yeah…sorry, Bren. He was hitting on you," Angela sighed, a huge smile on her face.

"Thanks for your help," Brennan said honestly.

"Anytime, but Brennan," Angela said. "Don't ignore his advances just because you're scared. He knows you'll be scared at first. Don't let your doubts stop you from having something great with him."

"I don't…know what that means," Brennan said, beginning to feel just as confused as she had when she first messaged Angela.

"You'll figure it out. Have a good trip," Angela said and shut off the video connection.

She sat up on her bed, lost in her thoughts of Booth potentially hitting on her and how she should respond to that. Brennan finally glanced over to the glasses laying near her pillow and thought that just maybe, Angela might actually be right this time.

* * *

A few minutes later, Brennan stood outside the closed door to Booth's room, nervously toying with the glasses in her hands. She slipped them on and took a deep breath before knocking lightly on his door. She was essentially knocking on his door with the intention of seducing her partner. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Booth opened the door in just a matter of seconds. He was wearing boxers and a thin white tank top, and his hair was still damp from his shower. His face broke into a smile when he saw Brennan wearing the glasses. He also noticed that she looked nervous and a little bit uncomfortable.

"Bones, what are you doing?" he asked her.

"I believe there was something you asked me to do that I didn't follow through on," she said, stepping into his room.

"Oh yeah?" Booth asked, smiling. "And what was that?"

"Um…" Brennan hesitated. She then reached up and pulled the hair band out of her hair, shaking her head slightly as her auburn locks fell softly around her face. That helped her get into character a little bit, and she looked up at him with a little less uncertainty in her eyes. "Booth, do you know what the penalty is for an overdue book?"

Booth began to chuckle softly as he watched her awkwardly try to fulfill the little fantasy his mind had crafted as soon as he saw her in those glasses. Brennan frowned. Laughter wasn't the reaction she had been expecting. She wasn't really sure _what_ she had been expecting, but laughter wasn't it. She sighed.

"Did I do it wrong?" she asked him.

"No!" he said immediately. "You did it great. That was…great, Bones."

"Then why are you laughing?" she asked.

"When I asked you to do that, I just pictured it differently in my head. I didn't realize how damn cute you'd look doing it," Booth chuckled again. "What made you come do that?"

"Angela told me you were hitting on me!" Brennan revealed.

Booth began laughing even more as he began to picture a very excited Angela explaining to a very confused Brennan exactly what his request had meant. Brennan began to get frustrated with his laughter and began to pout, crossing her arms across her chest.

"You asked Angela?" he said, continuing to laugh.

"Booth!" she exclaimed.

He stopped laughing and took a moment to take in her appearance. She was standing just inside his doorway with her hair framing her face and the glasses resting on her nose. She looked as confused as she had when he first made that request of her, and her lips were slightly parted, forming a soft pout. He took a step towards her, intending to pull her into a hug to apologize for laughing and to thank her for attempting to indulge his fantasy, but as he looked at her again, he couldn't _not_ kiss her.

He stepped forward again and grasped her cheek, pulling her lips up to meet his in a kiss. She gasped in surprise as their lips touched, and he took the opportunity to pull her bottom lip into his mouth. She could taste him on her lips as he began to gently suck on her skin, but she felt the kiss in her stomach, as the muscles there instantly tightened upon their mouths meeting. She stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his torso, just above his stomach, holding him in place against her. Brennan let him lead, and he tenderly sucked on her lip before gently biting on it, a move that elicited another gasp from her.

This time he took the opportunity to slip his tongue between her lips, and he wrapped his arms around her as his tongue began to explore the inside of her mouth. She curled her tongue against his and increased the pressure against his lips, finally becoming more of an active participant in the kiss. Booth kissed her a few more times before pulling away.

"You said I looked cute before…does that mean I'm not sexy enough?" Brennan asked him, insecurity in her voice. His forehead rested against hers, and his eyes were still closed.

Booth pulled away from her to look at her again. Her hair still fell softly around her face, and the glasses still rested against her nose, but now her cheeks were flushed pink and her lips were swollen from being kissed. He cupped his hands around her face and used his thumb to gently stroke her cheeks. He couldn't believe that someone as beautiful as Bones didn't know how attractive she was.

"You, Bones, are _incredibly_ sexy," he said in the same low voice he had used on the plane. "But just so you know, you don't need the glasses for me to think that."

She smiled at his admission, and pulled him in for another kiss, his words causing her confidence to increase. He wrapped his arms around her waist, as she wrapped hers tightly around his neck, pressing their bodies together as they shared passionate kisses, both partners memorizing the taste and feel of the other. After a long time spent kissing the other, Brennan began to back them up towards his bed.

"Bones," he breathed in between kisses. "What are you doing?"

"I think, Seeley Booth, that it's time you start making payments for all your overdue library fines…" she purred, slipping back into the sexy librarian role. Her hands slipped under his shirt, and she began caressing his muscles. "And if you can't afford it, I'm sure we can work out some _other _type of payment…"

"Whoa…Bones," he said, trying to stop her backwards movements.

"That's _Miss Brennan_ to you," she whispered, reattaching her lips to his.

"Hey, Bones…I'm serious," he said, letting her out of his embrace.

She immediately took the glasses off her face and held them down at her side. "I'm sorry, Booth. I…I thought this was what you wanted," she said, her face slightly falling.

He wrapped his arms back around her waist and looked directly into her eyes. "It is. It's exactly what I wanted, but, even though I'm not opposed to a little bit of harmless role-playing every once in a while, our first time is going to be as Booth and Bones, not sexy librarian and naughty schoolboy."

"But what happened to 'what happens on vacation stays on vacation?'" she asked.

Booth chuckled again. "That saying applies to _Vegas_, Bones, not all trips away from home," he laughed.

"Oh," she said. "But Booth…I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?" he asked.

"Why does it matter what role we're playing? We'll always be Booth and Bones…even though that's not really my name," she pointed out.

"You love it," he teased.

"Yeah," she admitted, smiling slightly. His face broke into a huge grin at her confession.

"And it matters because I want our first time to be special and happen because we care about each other and want to make love to each other, not because we're fulfilling some sort of silly sexual fantasy. Do you understand that?" Booth asked.

"I can accept that, yes," Brennan answered. "And…you're right. It'll be better that way. I'm sorry."

He kissed her softly. "No, don't be sorry. You were trying to make me happy."

"Did it work?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he said. "But, no offense, I'm still exhausted, so I'm going to give you one more kiss goodnight, and then you're going to go back to your own room, and I'll see you in the morning for breakfast."

"Okay," she agreed, pushing herself onto her tiptoes to reach his lips.

They kissed one another tenderly and slowly, savoring their last kiss of the evening. When they finally pulled away, he immediately leaned in again, placing one more quick peck on her warm lips. He then grabbed the glasses from her hand and placed them back on her face.

"Goodnight, _Miss Brennan_," he teased.

"Goodnight," she whispered, smiling shyly.

He stood in his doorway and watched her walk across the suite to the bathroom. She paused at the door and turned to see if he was looking at her. When she saw that he was, she shot him a sincere but playful smile before disappearing behind the bathroom door. He smiled, laughed to himself again, and shut the door, ready to snuggle into bed for a good night's sleep.

* * *

_Thanks for reading, and please leave a review to tell me what you thought!_


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